The Very BEST Oatmeal Pancakes

These soft Oatmeal Pancakes are slightly sweet and tangy. Made with real ingredients, these homemade pancakes come together in a flash and have an amazing texture and taste. When topped with a little butter, real maple syrup and fresh fruit, these oat flour pancakes are the perfect weekend treat. Makes 24 silver dollar pancakes.

Love pancakes? Learn How to make the Best Homemade Pancakes!

2023 Update: This recipe was originally shared in January 2013. I have simplified this recipe to include ingredients everyone can find. It also now includes measurements by weight. The post has been updated to include new photos, as well as more tips and tricks. I hope you love them!

Pancakes are a family favorite and have been a family favorite of ours for, well, forever.

These Oatmeal Pancakes, made with homemade oat flour and a handful of other pantry and refrigerated ingredients, come together in a flash and were a fever dream when I was a long distance runner a lifetime ago. 😉

As someone who always tries to get some whole grains into her belly, these pancakes did the trick for me, though I will not tell you they are healthy pancakes.

These Oatmeal Flour Pancakes are not gluten free. However, if you need a GF pancake recipe, let me recommend these Gluten-Free Pancakes.

Why I love these pancakes:

These Easy Oat Flour Pancakes strike the perfect balance and call for simple ingredients that you probably already have at home. They’re completely from-scratch, and while they are not exactly the same as traditional pancakes, they are a fun twist on the classic.

The pancakes themselves are soft and light.

The oat is pleasant, adding a lovely mild flavor without overpowering the pancake itself. It makes for an interesting texture, too.

We add some flour to this recipe, so it’s not a gluten free pancake or a 5-ingredient oat pancake recipe… but it is SOLID and absolutely delicious.

Every time I’ve made these, my family has gone wild for them and has complimented their balance of flavor and texture.

Other breakfast recipes we love: Peanut Butter Pancakes with Raspberry Preserves Syrup / Freezer-Friendly Breakfast Tacos / Sweet Breakfast Crepes / Homemade Waffles with Strawberries and Cream / Andouille Sausage Breakfast Tacos / Sweet Potato Pancakes

Need more morning food inspiration? Head on over to my Breakfast Recipe Index for more ideas.

What you need to make this recipe:

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• Large mixing bowl
• Small mixing bowl or liquid measuring cup
• Whisk
• Rubber spatula
• 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop — or any measuring scoop of your choice
• Cast iron griddle — you can also use an electric one!
• Pastry brush — to brush oil or melted butter onto your griddle
• Metal spatula — if you’re using a nonstick skillet, use a plastic spatula so it doesn’t scratch the surface!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• All-purpose flour — this is sometimes referred to as AP flour. It is white flour and serves as the base for our recipe. When I originally published this recipe, I used whole wheat pastry flour, and that worked well if you want to add wheat flour to the pancakes instead.
• Rolled oats — I used thick cut oats and ground them down. This works with regular rolled oats, too. Do not use quick oats or instant oats, as the texture will not come through nearly as much.
• Granulated sugar — this provides a little sweetness to the batter. 
• Leaveners — baking soda and baking powder are both used in this recipe to create light, fluffy pancakes. Make sure yours are fresh.
• Salt — I like to use a fine grain sea salt for this recipe.
• Milk — you can use whatever type of milk you’ve got on hand. I love whole milk for pancakes, but you can just as easily make this with a lower fat milk. Oat milk, almond milk and coconut milk would also easily work for dairy-free options, too.
• Greek yogurt — this adds a little tanginess to the pancakes. You can use plain or vanilla-flavored.
• Eggs — these provide structure, as well as a bit of lift. I like to let them hang out at room temperature before mixing.
• Vanilla extract — a little goes a long way! Be sure to use the real deal, not the imitation kind.
• Unflavored oil — we have used vegetable, canola or avocado oil in this recipe. Refined coconut oil would also work.

Toppings for this Oat Flour Pancakes recipe:

• Real maple syrup
• Softened salted butter (or vegan butter)
• Strawberry Whipped Cream or Sweetened Whipped Cream
• Chocolate chips
• Fruit sauces, like Homemade Strawberry Syrup or Fresh Blueberry Sauce
• Fresh fruit slices

How to make Pancakes with Oat Flour

Make your own oat flour. Measure the rolled oats into the food processor or a high-speed blender.

Blend into a fine powder, which is a flour-like consistency, about 1-2 minutes depending on your device.

Mix the dry ingredients. Combine the ground oatmeal with the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk until combined, then create a little divot in the center of the dry ingredients.

Mix the wet ingredients. Combine the yogurt, milk, eggs, vanilla and oil in a smaller bowl or a liquid measuring cup.

Use a fork to break the egg yolks and mix the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined. This mixture will be thick.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. This step is very important because overmixing your batter will make the pancakes less fluffy.

Let the pancake batter sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken up before cooking.

Heat a griddle or a skillet over medium heat on the stovetop. Spray the pan with nonstick baking spray or use a little butter (or oil) to grease it.

Once pan has warmed, dollop the batter onto the hot skillet using a cookie scoop into silver dollar-sized pancakes. The 1.5-tablespoon scoop is my favorite for pancakes.

Cook until bubbles appear on the surfaces of the pancakes, then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes, or until the other side is golden brown and the pancakes have cooked through.

Move the pancakes off the griddle to your plate.

Repeat until all the remaining batter has been cooked.

Serve warm with a drizzle of maple syrup, butter and fresh fruit or the toppings of your liking.

Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips

As a mom, I absolutely love hosting an at-home brunch because it’s easy to do (especially when your kids wake up on the earlier side), includes a lot of foods that kids generally enjoy and is more relaxed than afternoon or evening entertaining.

Making this Oatmeal Pancake recipe for a brunch is a brilliant idea!

Here are some tips and tricks to making it easy on yourself:

• Double the recipe. This will be dependent on the amount of guests you’re hosting, but better too many than not enough. You can make the pancakes in advance and keep them warm in a 200F oven until it’s serving time.
• Make a pancake bar. Set out the pancakes, then let guests dress their own by offering various toppings, including the caramelized apples, sweetened whipped cream and more. 
• Make a juice bar for the guests! Kids love this, and you can always have a bottle of champagne stashed in the fridge for adults who might want a little bubbly in their juice. (Think like a mimosa bar, like this one!) 

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Tips and Tricks for the Best Pancakes

• Don’t overmix your batter! Just mix the batter until it has just come together. Lumps are OK. If you mix until it’s smooth, the pancakes won’t be as fluffy.
• When do you know how to flip? When big ‘ol bubbles start to form in the batter. Lift up the edge a little bit with a spatula to confirm the color on the other side before committing… because when you flip them, you won’t flip them again. (Yep. We only need to flip our pancakes once.)
• Once you’ve flipped your pancakes, don’t press down on them! This will deflate them. Obviously, we want them to puff up and be as light and airy as possible.
• Leftover pancakes? Freeze ’em! Line a baking sheet with wax paper, and pop them in the freezer for 4-6 hours. When the pancakes are fully frozen, transfer them to a freezer baggie. Reheat in the toaster oven, toaster or the oven until warm.

More pancake recipes to try:

• Apple Cider Pancakes
• Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes
• Bacon Pancakes
• Nutella Pancakes (Chocolate Hazelnut Pancakes)
• Old Fashioned Pancake Recipe

Now here’s how to make these delicious oat pancakes: